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Robert Anderson was just a young boy when he became a house servant in a Liberty County plantation home. He cleaned the knives, swept the floors, and later tended to the sheep, cows, and hogs. Robert's mistress thought a great deal of him and kept him around the house as much as possible. In Robert's words his mistress felt that nothing went right if I [Anderson] did not have something to do with it....

In her diary Mary Austin Holley jotted down the events of her afternoon with friends. She enjoyed pleasant conversation as well as the beautiful surroundings. She made note of the impressive collection of books, and in particular the various curiosities displayed throughout the parlor. Holley's friends, Mr. and Mrs. Wharton, boasted all sorts of fascinating relics, once owned by famous figures in Mexican...

Sometime in October of 1831, two female slaves, Abigail and Ann, escaped with their children from Daniel McKenzie, a local slave trader from Accomack, Virginia. The slaves were later apprehended and placed into the custody of a sheriff in the state of Delaware. Once in Delaware the slaves sued in forma pauperis for their freedom. Before the slaves could appear in front of the court, they escaped...

When one moves from Brooklyn, New York to Norfolk, Virginia during the mid-nineteenth century, culture shock is to be expected. Clement D. Newman experienced this effect when he made this relocation in 1845. Newman recounts the social life of his new town to his father in a letter dated January 1, 1846. Though Newman surely liked the town of Norfolk, he admitted that the manners and customs are very...

Virginia was a place that was steeped on deep, rich Southern tradition during the 1830s. Most of the wealthy people who then resided in Fauquier County were plantation owners. They went about their daily lives in a manner that seemed to be lazy and carefree. Virginia was also a place of excitement because many of the nation's prominent men lived in the state of Virginia. One of these men was Edward...

When reading novels from nineteenth century, one often sees an overbearing mother whose only joy in life is finding suitable matches for her infinite number of daughters. In these stories, the daughter does not normally have much, if any, say as to whom she will wed. On Tuesday October 25, 1851, Mary Jane Boggs Holladay of Virginia was busy in preparation for her marriage. She was confronted with afflictions...

Joseph Addison Waddell was a wealthy and influential man in nineteenth-century Augusta County, Virginia. He owned the Staunton Spectator from 1856-1860. The Spectator reached many residents of Augusta County. He kept an extensive diary during his life, of which the years 1855-1865 are still preserved. On October 15, 1856, after having contemplated the hopeless Know-Nothing campaign of Millard Fillmore...

In April of 1838, George Guion wrote to the Thibodeauxville Branch of Union Bank of Louisiana asking for a loan of 5,000 in addition to a 10,000 mortgage he already had from the bank on his plantation and slaves. Guion wrote that his plantation had increased in both size and productivity since his first application for a loan due to the fencing of his land, the erection of a cotton gin and a gristmill,...

On March 3 1859, Francis Kemble noted in her diary the death of one of her neighbors and subsequent partition of his estate. One of the largest human chattel holding in North America-- 436 men, women, and infants according to Mrs. Kembles journal-were divided among the heirs. The slaves were brought to Savannah in small convenient groups. "Half a Negro stock on major butlers plantation, fell to one...

After reading through the Plantations letters and the excerpts provided by classmates I think that the overall theme is that monetary importance and gaining income is all that truly mattered. A few of the interpretations that I have read from classmates mention that they were surprised about the “care and compassion” that both supervisor Lewellyn and Mr. Cameron had toward the slaves. However,...